Chinese Weddings

What is a "Tea Ceremony" during a Chinese wedding? What are the highlights to be

photographed during this "Tea Ceremony"? What are the special considerations? How

should you influence this "Tea Ceremony" with your photography? How would you

position or pose anyone? Why? What other highlights of a Chinese wedding should be

photographed? How should you accomplish this?

The Tea Ceremony is where some guys in cool robes run around holding a big T in the air.

You could influence the ceremony by getting there early and hiding the big T. That would

be the perfect opportunity to introduce a little western culture with a version of the Easter

egg hunt (substituting the big T for the eggs of course). Once they found the big T you

could start the marathon posing sessions where everyone in China has to be

photographed with the big T. The print orders alone would carry you into retirement.

Tea ceremony takes place in the morning of the day of the reception. It takes place at the girls parent's house, I think. the couple who are getting married will offer tea to the parents. I think the parents would traditionally sit while the couple kneel in front of them and offer them tea. After the parents, the other elders of the family then take turn to receive tea from the couple. I've never attended one of these so I can't really say what to photograph. I can't imagine this being super formal, so feel free to snap away. Just make sure you don't stand between the kneeling couple the the people receiving tea in front of them.

Marc, are you serious???

 

I'm going to be doing a Chinese wedding in July. I would really like to see some sample images from a Chinese wedding if anybody has any to share.

Taking chinese weddings as a whole, what are the highlights and main events? What are good films and styles of photography to use? I know to avoid BW, because Chinese culture associate BW images with death and dying (I'm told.)

My cousine had a Ukrainian ans Chinese service here is a shot with the grooms mother the bride and best man ( Guy Quinne Pat Quinnes brother the coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team )

A Wedding Chinese Tea Ceremony is a formal affair. It is the time when the bride and groom are introduced formally to their respective families including their close relatives.

 

The couple usually serves tea to the grooms parents first, followed by relatives in terms of senority. It is also the time when expensive gifts in terms of gold, jewellery,sometimes houses,cars are given to the pair to start them off in life. Every person presenting the gifts to the bride and groom expects to be photographed. In the case of a relative that is younger than the groom, it is the younger person who serves tea to the marrying pair and not the other way round.

 

The whole process is repeated on the bride's side when the couple goes back there during the day.

 

Good luck, the whole process may take more than half an hour depending on how many relatives each of them have.

 

Off course you can always line up a family photo after the ceremony. Beware, some large families have a hundred members.

Just goofing around Steven. Guess I should've put a smiley face at the end ; -)

 

No disrespect meant in any way... it's just things seemed to be getting sooooo serious

around here lately with all the empirically demanding posts. It's just the internet for crying

out loud.

In Chinese culture, who is older (and therefore more senior) is critical. That is why there are separate terms for elder and younger brothers, sisters, uncles, etc. etc. As Maxby points out, the "presenting the tea" ceremony before the actual wedding itself is an important part. The bride and groom are all dressed up and present tea to relatives that are older, including grand parents, parents, uncles and ants, elder brothers and sisters. And the relatives will give them jewery (frequently gold) in return. Usually it is not a problem for the groom to see the bride in her gown before the actual wedding.

 

The photographer and videographer are supposed to capture these moments. Typically this is a simple horizontal (landscape) shot with the bride and groom on one side handing over two cups of tea and the (older) relatives sitting on the other side in the image. In these days the bride and groom are usually just standing instead of on their knees.